Monday, March 24, 2014

STITCH IT UP AND SEND IT OFF

Luckily, I've been very busy.

More so with my other work, but before tax time, you take what you can get.

Last week, I had a client that needed 5 bar tops replaced. I did them in 1/4" aluminum. They came out beautiful, but I had to drive to the moon to get the material. The perk to driving to the moon for material, is that for some ungodly reason, the prices are way cheaper then buying in Chicago proper.

I figured as long as I was out there, I would pick up some steel for a project.

What that project would be...I wasn't sure, but knowing what you're gonna build is a minor detail.

I get in the shop Thursday morning and knock out some 14" hairpin legs.

There's been this live edge pine slab that has been sitting there for 5 months. I never really attacked it before, because it was in pretty lousy shape.

Collin had brought me some new slabs that I was going to dive into, but this ugly slab of pine was giving me puppy dog eyes, just sitting there all alone, away from the new cool wood.

I walked back over to it, picked it up, and said "come on, let's do this".

I chopped it in half. One side was a mess, and the other half was in decent shape, and I, of course, took the side that was a mess.

I mean, fuck it. As long as we're going down this road, why go for the easy kill.

At one point, Collin came in the shop and saw the two pieces sitting there, and said "you picked the shitty one on purpose, eh?" and then he walked out.

I've spent the last few years around some old school cabinet makers, the best in the biz, in fact.

When they select wood, they pick the flawless, absolute most perfect pieces. They spend hours pulling stock. I get it. That's how they were taught, and that's what their client base demands.

Me? I go for the ragamuffins. At Salvage One, there's kind of a running joke that my pieces are the equivalent of "the ugly girl with the great ass".

Back to the coffee table....I put in work. I stitched her up with 4 Dutchman joints. While I was sanding it, I took some extra time to round off the inside edges of the splits. It's a detail that may go unnoticed, but to those that do notice, it will exude a sense of pride.

I'm happy with the outcome and this ugly girl is content with her makeover.

Back to the cabinet shop, as long as I'm thinking about it...When I am doing work at the cabinet shop, and the guys have a client or whoever in there, they always make an effort to introduce me.

They never say "this is Brian, he's Roberto's son-in-law, he's a cabinet maker, or furniture maker, or carpenter", They always say "this is Brian, he's Roberto's son-in-law, he's an ARTIST".

I've been called a lot of things in my time, and coming from those guys, I'll take the title of "artist" as a compliment.